Fusee thrower and guide



No. 627,232. Patented lune 20, |899.

6. B. HDWARD.

Fuses Tnnowsn Arn sums.

(Application lod 1m. 19, 1899.)

(Nu'Model.)

, K- INVENTDR:

Nirnn STATES GEORGE B. HOWARD, OF SOMERVlLLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

F-USEE THROWER AND GUIDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,232, dated June 20,1899.

Application filed January 19, 1899. Serial No. 702,657. (No model.)

T @ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE B. HOWARD, of Somerville, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Fusee Throwers and Guides, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a'simple and effectivedevice for throwing and guiding fusres from moving railway-trains insuch manner that the fusee, which is provided at its lower end with aspu r-will strike the surface at which it is thrown with the spur end inadvance, thus providing with reasonable certainty for the planting ofthe fusee in the desired position-Lthat is, supported in a verticalposition by the spur, so that the lame-of the fusee will be directedupwardly and thus be seen to the best advantage.

The fusee now in common use is a tube charged with suitable combustiblematerial and having atonc end a spur and at theother end an ignitingdevice, which is usually a part of a complete self-igniting compound,

the other part of said compound being placed v on the outer end of a capor cover, which-is applied to the fusee when it is not required for use.When the fusee is to be ignited, the cap is removed, and the ignitingmaterial on its outer end is rubbed against the complemental material onthe fusee, thus igniting the charge. The fusee is held in one hand ofthe operator during this operation and is then thrown downwardly uponthe railwaytrack, the trainman aiming as accurately as possible in theeiort to cause the spurto penetrate the surface which it strikes.

Owing to the fact that the fusee ignites very quickly and projects itsiiame to a considerable height the trainman is obliged to act veryquickly and often to avoid being .burned throws the fusee so hurriedlyand inaceuratel y that it falls flat upon the ground, its flame beingthus obscured wholly or in part.

My invention, which is intended to enable the trainman to accurately andcarefully `throw the fusee without risk of being burned,

consists as `a whole in a fusee'thrower and guide open at one end andhaving at the other end a handle whereby the guide may be wielded and astop to limit the entrance of Vthe fusee into the guide, the guide beingof such length that a complemental igniting device and the fusee may beinserted and the latter ignited within the guide and then forciblythrown by giving the guide a downward Aswinging movement.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure l represents a sectional view of an ordinary fusee. Fig. 2represents a sectional view ot' my improved fusee thrower and'guide, thefusee and its cap being shown in the position they occupy in the guidewhen the fusee is being ignited and thrown. Fig- 3 represents aperspective view showing a fusee properly planted and in the act ofdischarging.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

4In the drawings, a represents a f usee which consists of a tubular bodycontaininga charge of suitable combustible composition, said body havingat one end a closing-plug provided with a spur b and at the other end acap` provided with a core or plugof combustible material.

d represents a cap which is removably applied to the f usee in positionto cover the combustible tip c, said cap having on the outer surfaceofits outer end la coating fl, containing a chemical which when rubbedagainst the tip c will'cause combustion, the tip c and' the coating d'resembling the two parts which cause the com-bustion of a safety-match.

In carrying out my invention I provide a thrower or guide for the saidfusee, which comprises a tube f, which is open at one end and is adaptedto receive the fusee a and its cap d and is provided at its inner endwith a stop f3 to limit theentrance of the fusee into the guide, thelengthof the -guide between its open end and the stop f8 beingsufiicient to receive the cap d and a considerable portion of thebody'of the fusee when said parts are separated and arranged so thatthesurface d of the cap is in contact with the tip c of the fusee, the spurend of the fusee projecting far enough to enable it to be grasped androtated to cause suflieienty friction to ignite the tip c and the chargeof the fusee. The stop f3, as here shown, is the end of a handle f',which is preferably of- Wood and is inserted in one end of the tube f.

A contracted orce f2 extends through the handle to permit the entranceof air into the l places it in the tube or guide f with its coating d'outward and then inserts the fnsee in the guide with its tip c next theycoating d', I

the spur b projecting. He then, holding the handle f in one hand andgrasping the projectingend of the fusee in the other, rotates one ofsaidparts su'iciently to cause the ignition of the tip. He then by aquick downward swinging movement of the guide throws the fusee from theguide and causes its spur b to penetrate the surface it strikes, asshown in Fig. 3..

The handle f is preferably protected against the heat generated withinthe guide by making it of a suitable material which is a non-conductorof heat, the handle being in this case made of Wood. It is obvious, hoW`ever, that any other suitable non-conducting material may be used toprotect the surface of the handle.

Ido not limit myself to the employment of the air-admitting oricefz,although the same is desirable, particularly when the fusee fits 1. Thecombination with a fusee anda cap therefor the outer ends of which areprovided with complemental igniting means, of a fusee thrower and guidecomprising a tube which is open at one end and has an unobstructed.

inner surface along which the fusee is adapted to slide freely, and ahandle affixed to the other end of the tube and composed of a materialwhich is a non-conductor of heat, said' dnctor'of heat, said handlehaving an unob structed orifice extending through it for-the admissionof air to the guide while the fusee is being thrown.

In testimony whereof I have aixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE B. HOWARD.

Witnesses: y

C.' F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISON.

